A trade sending the former No. 1 NBA draft pick from the Raptors to the New York Knicks was not approved by the league Sunday night and will now not be finalized until July 10.

There was nothing against the rules in the deal, though, and both sides expect it to be completed and approved when a moratorium on transactions is lifted in less than two weeks.

Because paperwork was not submitted to the league by the end of last week, the approval process could not be finished Sunday night, according to one NBA source.

Numbers will be tweaked to reflect 2013-14 salary levels — new contract terms kick in July 1 — and small pieces may have to be added to make that add up, but there is little doubt the deal will go through.

And it will mean what became clear late last season — that Bargnani had played his last game as a Raptor, with the team’s president openly suggesting he would trade him as soon as possible and the fans booing at every chance — will come to fruition.

Bargnani had become a lightning rod for an under-achieving, non-playoff roster and a fresh start was all that anyone wanted. He, and the Raptors, will now get that fresh start.

New Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri, finishing what former boss Bryan Colangelo had suggested be done last February, worked out a way to ship the enigmatic, jump-shooting seven-foot Roman to the Knicks for Steve Novak, Marcus Camby, a protected first-round draft pick in 2016 and two future second-round selections.

It was a bold first personnel move by Ujiri, who took over from Colangelo in early June, divesting the roster of a seven-year veteran who had fallen out of favour during an injury-riddled 2012-13 season.

In Bargnani’s place, the Raptors get an equally out-of-favour jump shooting big man in the 30-year-old Novak. An adept marksman from the corner, the six-foot-10 Novak barely played for New York late last season, never playing more than 16 minutes in any of the Knicks’ nine playoff games and scoring 18 points in total in those nine games.

He averaged a paltry 6.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game for New York last season, averaging about 20 minutes. He does, however, have one skill the Raptors sorely need. He is a career 43.3 per cent shooter from three-point range, making him immediately Toronto’s most dangerous outside threat.

Camby, originally drafted by the Raptors in 1996, is at the tail end of a 17-year career and played in just 24 games last season. Camby signed with the Knicks last year — turning down an offer from the Miami Heat — to return to another team he had played for and to chase a championship.

“It’s unfortunate that I wasn’t given a meaningful opportunity to contribute last season in New York,” he said in a statement issued through his agent. “I was really looking forward to the upcoming year as a chance to show the organization what they missed out on last year, and pushing our team towards the finals.

“I have nothing but positive things to say about the city of Toronto and its great fans, having been drafted by the Raptors 17 years ago. Given that my goal at this point in my career is to have a shot at a championship, however, I’ll have to evaluate my options going forward. I’ve enjoyed a great career and under the right circumstances I hope to continue making an impact in the league.”

The move saves Toronto money long-term. Bargnani is owed about $22 million over the next two seasons; Novak has three years and about $11 million left on his current deal; Camby has two years and about $8.5 million left, although the final year is not fully guaranteed.

The deal, more than anything, signals that Ujiri is willing to shake up a roster that finished 34-48 a season ago and out of the playoffs for the fifth straight season. And he still has other moves to potentially make.

The general manager met with Kyle Lowry on Saturday and still has to decide whether or not to exercise an option on the final year of the point guard’s contract. The Raptors can save more than $5 million by cutting Lowry adrift, although it would leave them with no point guard on the current roster.

As well, Ujiri may want to use the NBA’s one-time amnesty clause, the most likely target being forward Linas Kleiza.

Trading Bargnani is the first player move to distance this Raptors team from the Colangelo era. The 27-year-old was Colangelo’s first Toronto draft pick and the GM steadfastly stood by him until late last season, when he suggested a change of scenery might benefit both the player and the Raptors.

And now Ujiri, who has been given carte blanche by ownership to revamp the roster as he sees fit in the short- or long-term, has provided that chance for both the team and Bargnani.

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